There is honour in every job
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There is honour in every job
A business owner was speaking recently about how we spend our time at work and what we choose to give our attention to at work. She said that there are certain jobs that no one likes or thinks of to do, and so she will do them, even though they are not technically part of her job description as an owner.
For instance:
- A cleaning job
- Sweeping the front walk
- Cleaning the bathrooms
- Emptying the garbage cans
All of this is often seen as a 'thankless' job, or one that is ‘less’.
And yet ... what if ... there is honour in every job?
- Is it possible that even the most basic job is important?
- And that there is honour in the most menial or dirtiest of tasks?
- In being able to sweep the front walk with care, so that we have a clean and welcoming path to walk into ...
- In taking out the trash so the receptacle won’t spill over ...
- In cleaning the bathrooms so the next time it’s used it will be orderly and neat ...
These jobs are all very needed – are they not foundational to a clean, organised and well-operating workplace?
Let us explore the possibility that there is as much honour in doing these jobs as there is in a desk job, writing a business plan or making decisions about company pay and benefits.
Where would the desk person be, or how would their job be going, if they were sitting at a desk full of rubbish, with their feet on dirty carpet, with dirty bathrooms, etc. Get the picture? None of us wants to work in an environment like that. We all play a part in our work environment and, let us acknowledge that: No job is less important than another.
Sharing the work can be beneficial for everyone, and for a business owner to be willing to do the 'thankless' jobs – whether anyone else notices or not – shows that we are all equal in truth – no matter our job title or position in the company.
What if we started to bring to work an appreciation of this fact:
- Would we then not need the pat on the back or the gold star from our boss or above?
- Would we then not only want to do what we see as the ‘important jobs’ and stop avoiding the jobs we think are lesser?
- Would we then, perhaps, simply do what was needed?
Imagine how that would transform workplaces!
What if we brought to work an appreciation that we are playing our part in the whole, and a knowing that our part is important, and equal to any other, no matter our title or job description? Would that not change the way we are at work, the way we feel about work, and potentially the whole workplace?
There is honour in being able and willing to do any kind of work, whether it is a cleaning job or an office job or whatever other job it might be, with care and purpose. How would our workplaces be, for all of us, if we brought to them this simple truth?
Filed under
Career, Appreciation, Teamwork
